Michelle Pfeiffer has opened up about the rocky road that led to her iconic role as Elvira in Brian De Palma’s 1983 crime classic Scarface, recalling how Al Pacino initially opposed her casting before a dramatic screen test changed his mind.
Speaking on the SmartLess podcast, Pfeiffer admitted that while director De Palma and the casting team were enthusiastic about her, Pacino was not convinced. The audition process dragged on for two months, during which she said her nerves got the better of her. “Over the course of two months, I just got worse and worse and worse, because I’m just afraid. And by the end, I’m bad,” she recalled.
Initially rejected, Pfeiffer thought the opportunity had slipped away. But a month later, she was unexpectedly called back for a screen test. By then, she said, she had nothing to lose. “I show up, and I don’t even give a shit, ’cause I know I’m not getting this part,” she said.
That carefree attitude led to what she now considers her best work in the film. During a heated restaurant scene, Pfeiffer swiped a table so forcefully that dishes and glasses shattered. “There’s blood everywhere. They all run over to me to see where I’ve cut myself. Well, I didn’t cut me. I cut Al cut him in the finger or something,” she said.
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